Jose Mourinho Talks Rejecting PSG, Arsene Wenger and More in Telefoot Exclusive

Jose Mourinho claims he twice turned down the opportunity to coach at Paris Saint-Germain and was the French giants' first choice for manager ahead of Carlo Ancelotti in 2011.

In an in-depth interview with France’s Telefoot on Sunday he also spoke about his recent touchline clash with Arsene Wenger and gave his views on the state of French football.   

Concerning enquiries from PSG, the Chelsea boss said that the French champions' director of football Leonardo approached him again after Ancelotti left the club in 2013, per Telefoot (h/t Get French Football News):

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I was Leonardo’s first choice (ahead of Ancelotti). And when Carlo left, they made me another offer. I have rejected them twice. I thought a lot about it. But the first time, there was Real Madrid and the second time there was Chelsea. The club has an enormous amount of quality, Laurent Blanc is a good manager, Al-Khelaifi a good President. They are in good hands. In the Champions League, they have gained some experience. They can win it. 

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However, beIN Sports' Tancredi Palmeri suggests a slightly different version of events concerning negotiations between PSG and Mourinho:

Whatever the scenario, though, it seems likely that PSG wanted Mourinho at the club but the lure of Real and Chelsea were clearly stumbling blocks.

The Portuguese manager was not to be drawn into explaining his clash with Wenger when the Arsenal boss pushed him during Chelsea's 2-0 victory over Arsenal last weekend, via Get French Football News:

However, also on Sunday, Wenger apologised for the incident on Telefoot but hinted that he was provoked by Mourinho, the incident coming after a reckless Gary Cahill challenge on Alexis Sanchez, via Christian Nourry of The Guardian:

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I always regret any signs of violence and I apologise, but that’s a part of games where everything is manic. And then we have quite a substantial past. Did Mourinho provoke me? That is how I felt. I did not enter Chelsea’s technical area.

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The general consensus surrounding the incident was that Wenger was at fault but it was a largely innocuous situation, per the Daily Telegraph's Henry Winter:

Mourinho was largely positive about the French national side during the interview, singling out Hugo Lloris, Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane for particular praise.

Yet he also shut down long-term rumours—as reported by Ben Jefferson in the Express—that Varane would be moving from Real to Chelsea to play under Mourinho once again:

Mourinho is currently in his second spell as Chelsea manager and—after finishing third in the Premier League last season—the Blues are currently five points clear at the summit of the English top flight.

Yet to lose a match, Mourinho's summer transfer business—which saw the arrival of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas, amongst others—is currently proving very effective.

While he may be at Stamford Bridge for a couple more years yet, Mourinho has historically only stayed at clubs for short periods, so he may yet take the reigns at PSG, especially if the French club challenge for Europe's top gongs.